Contrary to all the polls and predictions Benyamin Netanyahu and his Likud party have won another election. Some Israeli observers are calling this a landmark victory, because it came in spite of (or maybe as a reaction to) unprecedented external meddling in the country’s election process.

In part one of this series we explored some of the clearest hints from the Old Testament that the Lord has always intended to rapture the Church before the End Times judgments begin. This time we’ll continue with a two part survey of the New Testament. Because Paul was the first to reveal the mystery of the Rapture, we won’t expect to find a clear explanation in the Gospels, but since we already know about it, we’ll be able to spot a couple of hints here and there. Shall we continue?

Recently I was reading a new book on Revelation by an author who subscribes to the pre-wrath rapture position. I don’t recommend this or any other mid-trib, pre-wrath, or post-trib book. I only read them myself because my belief in the pre-trib position is solid enough to not be shaken, and I feel the need to know about the current thinking on other positions in case I’m asked.

Hal Lindsey once speculated that at his judgment Satan hurled two accusations at God. “You’re not just and You have no love.” In past studies we have seen how God demonstrated His perfect justice through Israel and His perfect love through the Church. In this study, we’ll talk about a time in the future when both perfect justice and perfect love will govern the lives of people on Earth.

Students of prophecy often pay more attention to Matthew’s version of the Olivet Discourse because of its greater length and detail. But when we bypass Luke’s account, we miss one third of the Lord’s message. That’s because the disciples asked the Lord three questions and in Matthew 24 He only answered the last two. Also, it’s Luke’s answer to their first question that confirms the whole message as it relates to the End Times.

In this study, I’d like to take another look at Revelation 20-22 specifically for the purpose of clarifying the sequence of events that are contained therein. This won’t be a verse by verse study, but will focus on what I believe to be the way John wanted us to understand what he was telling us.

Q. I have a question regarding praying for our country. Referring to Jeremiah 7:16, isn’t there a point where God’s patience runs out and His mind is made up regarding the fate of a peoples. I can’t help but think that the United States has reached that point where we have stuck our finger in His eye one time too many and judgement is sure to come. How can we know when we have reached this point?

Q. Whilst listening to a pastor preaching the gospel, something really stood out regarding the committing of oneself to Christ. The pastor pointed out that there are many people who believe they are saved, purely because they said a ‘sinners prayer’ accepting that Jesus died for their sins. The aspect which he believed was missing was a conviction of sin and repentance. He spoke of being ‘salt’ and ‘light’ and not being conformed to this world. He spoke of God’s Righteousness and Holiness and commented that most salvation messages had eliminated these elements of ‘repent and turn from your sins’. Are people who just say the sinner’s prayer saved or not?

Q. I am having trouble with Jesus’ statement in John 14: 28. “You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.” Did He say this because He was still on earth?

Q. Re: The Larger Earth Theory. Reading it brings to mind a question I have had for a long time. What about the Sun’s heat benefit for the earth? I truly believe that the New Jerusalem could provide the light needed for earth but I can’t understand how the earth will survive with the heat benefit gone. Are we not to believe all we have learned about the how the universe was put together and how it works?

Q. I read your good article in answer to a question regarding pre-born babies in the Rapture. You said that children below the age of accountability belong to God, and quoted Romans 7:9. Was there a misprint in this reference? The verse does not appear to address the issue. Please elaborate. Thank you.

Q. I am confused by Luke 21 and hope you can clarify it for me. Does this chapter concern the Tribulation period? If so, and if we believe the Rapture won’t happen until the ‘times of the Gentiles be fulfilled’ then Luke 21:24 appears to mean the Rapture won’t be experienced until sometime during the Tribulation, and yet that seams to be contradicted in Luke 21:36.

Q. Recently we were having a bible study on the book of Jonah and as I read the book I believe it to say that Jonah was alive in the belly of the fish that swallowed him. The instructor claimed that Jonah died in the fish & was essentially “buried” for three days, thus being a precursor to Christ. I believe that he was alive for the three days & nights, how else could he have prayed to God out of the fish’s belly?

Q. I was at a home Bible study the other night and the topic of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven came up. The leader of the study said the (new) Earth
will be many times larger than it is now in order to accommodate this vast structure. I had never considered that option and always thought at you do that the city will be more like a satellite in orbit. Later I happened to read an article that suggested the same thing. It seemed strange to have never heard of this and then hear it twice within a week. What are your thoughts on this “larger earth” theory?

Q. My question has to do with the book of Joel and chapter two in particular. The more that I study the bible the more I see a vast distinction between Israel and the Church. Chapter two of Joel clearly is about Israel and it appears to me that it is about Israel after the rapture. I have for my entire life been taught and believed that Joel 2:28 is primarily about the church with the Holy Spirit being poured out “on all people.” But verse 28 begins with “and afterward” with the context about the “Day of the Lord.” Verse 29 says “I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” To me these scriptures talks about God pouring out His Spirit on all people during the tribulation days.

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